[D7 LE Hotaru's tent] Friendship is Meishodo

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Well, this was going to be somewhat awkward. Yet, Dong-Ha felt like he had to thank the person that had pushed him to where he was now. So he stood before Hotaru's tent, holding a bottle of shocu in he had, feeling a little bit flustered. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong as per se, but was afraid that he might have led the Scorpion on. Well, he had been rather interested in her talents (and her looks, he admitted to himself). But then the Hare had come and stolen his breath away.

"Hotaru-san, are you there?" Dong-Ha called

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"I am!" Hotaru called out on a chipper note from the otherwise of her tent and emerged from her entrance with a bright smile on her lips. She seemed to be all smiles, if anything, despite what Dong-Ha may have thought about her. "Oooh! Dongu-Ha-san! What a surprise! Now, this is something that the oracle hasn't told me. I wasn't expecting to see you tonight, but your presence is welcoming nevertheless. Have you come for another of my consultation?"

She almost gave him a chance to answer and waved off her hand, giggling at herself. "Oooh, it doesn't matter! You don't need a reason to drop by. Please! Come in and have a seat! Come in!"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Uh, good evening Hotaru-san." the young man offered a bow to the Scorpion as she stepped out. "Thank you..." he followed her in, flustered by her energetic appearance. He couldn't fail to notice what she said about the oracle, though the earlier incident with Poppy had somewhat eroded his trust on her infallibility. "Uh, thank you for having me. As a guest, that is." Dong-Ha stammered, gingerly sitting down on one the worn pillows on the floor. "I brought shochu? No, I brought shochu." He placed the bottle between the two of them. "To thank you."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Oh, ho!" she exclaimed with a glint in her eyes. "So the bottle of shochu does make a return! I was wondering when it would be making a return. This a most wonderful occassion then! Great! Let me get my cup..."

She rummaged through her bags and produced a sizable sake cup. The cup was still more cup than sake space, perfect portions for someone of her size, of course. She presented it for a pour and giggled at Dong-Ha. "Someone's really popular today!"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Dong-Ha frowned. What had happened to that shy and somewhat reserved Hotaru he had first met. "Are you alright, Hotaru-san?" her behavior had been erratic enough earlier when she had dedicated her song to him and while he wanted to ask about some of the words she had used he was more concerned about her well being.

Yet, he filled her cup carefully. "Uhm... yes, it seems like that.." Dong-Ha was waiting for the small Scorpion to explain herself.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Huh?" She murmured curiously at the question, looking a little lost by his intended implication. "I'm fine! I'm in the company of a friend and some good alcohol, as you've told me. I really can't think of a better way to unwind after a long day." And it's been a loooong day.

She said a small thanks for the pour and offered to return the favour, if he wished. "Seems like it? I think I counted three offerings to your name. Three! That's a very peculiar number in Scorpion culture. It makes me wonder if perhaps your arrangement will be an auspicious one."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"If you say so..." he didn't sound entirely convinced. "Though I don't know about the alcohol being good. It's the first shochu I've ever tasted." Dong-Ha patted the side of the clay bottle bearing the pucture of an orange carp. "Uh... I don't have a cup with me. " Most people he knew used the actual bottle to drink.

"Uh.. I didn't know that..." the young man muttered, flustered as he was. "And it's all thanks to you Hotaru-san. You told me to seize the moment and it looks like it worked! It looks like she likes me." He smiled. "Thank bought so much. Though um, why Hotaru-san song about me.. and me liking girls in cages? Why would anyone put a girl in a cage? Oh and what kind of an animal kink is? Is it a lizard like skink?" He didn't seem to care that some would misunderstand her words, being more curious about her actions.

"Don't ask about the Seppun though. I only ever met her once!"

[Bayushi Hotaru]

"Oh! Sorry!" She said in response as she carefully presented the whole bottle to him for the taking instead. Her gaze went to the shochu in her cup once more with a second of hesitation before she took a small sip from it. The taste of alcohol wasn't something she was used to, especially so for harder alcohol. However, it was far easier to stomach it than milk.

"So, Usagi Tomoe-san was your project then?" She asked with a smile. Stupid fool! "That's quite the endeavour, no wondering the Fortunes called for action. She's an extremely popular girl, especially with all of the Unicorns and others surrounding her during the storytelling. It seems like she knows how to attract and please. If you didn't woo her, someone would have by now!"

She gave a small cough to the questions posed to her, trying to cover up her embarrassment. "Uhm...that's quite a few questions and I'm only one woman. I think I may need to finish this cup before I can answer any of that...But! The Seppun girl is nice. I spoke to her once too and she seems to know what she's doing. She likes to watch and learn, maybe she was watching you."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

Figuring she didn't mind him drinking from the bottle, Dong-Ha brought the flask to his lips and took a sip, grimacing as the liquid burnt his mouth. "Ah.." Luckily, the burn would abate as the potent drink began to dull his senses.

"Yes, thank you." Dong-Ha beamed. "I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. I wouldn't have dared to hope someone who seems to be so good match to me, though... seeing how Ide-dono is ranking us, I don't know how can get a chance to chose her. But I am sure that the Heavens will show the way." he seemed rather convinced by that. "Yes, she is so kind and knowledgeable, willing to sharing her time with us." For the time being, the young mystic could not find any fault in Tomoe. "Uh... there were some ugly rumors about her, but she told that I shouldn't worry about them." Dong-Ha added with a nod. "Is there anything I can do in return? I... am indebted to you."

"Uh? Kink is not an animal?" a hint of doubt crept into his voice. "Uh... why would that be the case?" Surely she knew what she had sung about, alcohol or no alcohol. When she mentioned Hitako, Dong-Ha frowned. "I guess, but... why. She barely knows me. I barely know her. And... she is well regarded by Ide-dono. She could claim me if she wanted. And she hasn't even asked if I like her."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

Yeah, don't worry about them. I mean, if you're not too concerned about who the father of your children might be, it might not be something to worry about. At the end of the day, an heir is an heir. "Oh, of course! Perhaps it was something that was overblown. There's just so many types of things that get said around the camp. Maybe someone just has a rather imagination out there!" She giggled with a slight roll of her eyes.

"You are most welcome on my given advice. I'm glad that you acted upon them, so I know what's good for you..." She said with a maintained smile. "Maybe Seppun Hitako-sama won't pick you anyway. Sometimes these songs are done as a spur of the moment offering of friendship...much like my offering! Nothing to look too deeply into. Only as a fun piece! I'm sure she's harmless."

"No, a kink is not an animal..." she murmured as she downed the contents of her cup. When she had a mother who owned businesses of discretion, she learned about such words early, often unintentionally. "You're not an animal!"

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Oh I am sure that must be it." Dong-Ha nodded, convinced. "She assured that they were merely friends. Perhaps one of the Crane had seen then walking to the same tent and had jumped to hasty conclusions, hmm? It's not like us sharing a tent like this means we are going to do anything indecent, neh." he added, smiling softly.

"Ah, spur of the moment, that makes sense." That explanation was far more less disturbing than Saksaha's theory about Hotaru lying about her visions. The half-Moto mystic had suggested that perhaps Hotaru's vision had been of herself and Dong-Ha. Dong-Ha had dismissed his cousin's idea, convinced that Hotaru was too honest to obfuscate matters with half-truths. "I think I'll still talk with her, just in case. It would be unfortunate if she had... strange ideas."

"So, what's kink then? Someone... smart?" he asked innocently, moving to refill her cup.

[Bayushi Hotaru]

There's the concept of friends with benefits? I can't help if that's what people want to do nowadays. "Oh, no! Of course, not! It's a good thing that no Cranes have walked into our tent to start such a foul rumour. I'm only the most proper of women." She said quite easily.

"You would if you wish....but I'd focus more on Usagi-san, first!" She said with a small chuckle. "Just because she's not doing too well, doesn't mean that she won't get picked first. I mean, everyone thinks she's charming and wise. Perhaps it might even be fashionable to talk to your fellow competitors too? The Seppun? Probably just a passing friendship phase..."

"A kink..." She said before taking a gulp of her drink. "...is having a specific niche of interests?" Deviant and dirty interests. "You're different than some of the other men here, Dongu-Ha-San."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"I trust you are." he replied earnestly. "And I would defend your reputation if such thing happened. You are a good person, Hotaru-san." Dong-Ha added, smiling as he did so. "But I don't think we need to worry about such things, neh." He assured Hotaru, reaching to pat her knee.

"Uh... there is precious little I can do if someone wants to pick her." he admitted dourly, fidgeting where he saw. "I have told my kinsmen about my intentions. I hope they respect them. However, I have only talked once with this Seppun-sama and Ide-dono seems to value her highly. I want to know what are her motivations, even if I don't have a particular opinion about her." he added carefully.

"I am?" he frowned, tilting his head to the side. "I mean, I am the only practitioner of meishodo, if that's what you mean. Does that mean that kink a word for a sorcerer or a mystic? In that case I am kink." Dong-Ha quipped, offering Hotaru a shy smile. "I'm very much the kink my father taught me to be." he then paused to consider her words. "Not sure my interests differ that much from other men, though. All I want to do is to find a good and kind wife. Someone like Tomoe-san or Hotaru-san."

[Bayushi Hotaru]

You're...touching me... Hotaru could only think to herself, right after their talk that she was a very proper woman. Patting her knee was a strange way to cap off the talk but she managed to dial it back quickly and remembered that it was a Unicorn thing that they did.

"Well, if she has your curiousity that much, you could talk to her...I personally won't pay too much mind to it, if I were in your particular shoes anyway." She said with a small shrug, spoken like someone who was very unlikely going to be in Dong-Ha's shoes, boots or sandals.

Hotaru have a shrug as she looked off with a faint blush on her cheek. "You mean like Tomoe-san, because she likes you and you like her. It's only right, as the fates has decreed in my reading."

"Please don't use that word freely." She requested with a smile on her lips. If she was going to fib, she was going to nip some parts of it in the bud. "It's a situational word and the meaning my change depending on the situation."

[Iuchi Dong-Ha]

"Uh... she doesn't really have my curiosity, but I would rather her not have any weird misunderstandings. She is also well regarded by Ide-dono, and I would... rather have her not chose me, without me knowing her better." he tried to explain his aversion towards the Seppun. "I am still flattered, of course, but... I don't want to marry someone I have barely met." Dong-Ha added with a small sight.

"You know Hotaru-san, among the Unicorn most lowly samurai get to chose their spouses, as long as their parents approve of the union. Some even marry people from the gaijin tribes, and no-one sees a problem with that. We believe that harmonious union is built on mutual interest."

"Mhmhm, Hotaru-san ought to... use her powers for something greater than this. Think how others could benefit from your abilities?" he leaned again towards the small Scorpion, excited by the idea as he was. This time, however, he didn't touch her. "I am glad I met you. With you on my side, I am sure that the Fortunes will smile on me."

"Uhh.. alright then." he nodded slowly. No kink... then. "I'll be careful, then. But uuh... err... what about the girls in cages? Where you might have gotten such an idea?"